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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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ASPHALT MATERIALS FROM MEXICO 

'I 

SUPPLY THREATENED BY CARRANZA 



Remarks of Ira Jewell Williams, of Philadelphia, before 
the Roofers' Association, Hotel McAlpin, New York 
City, on January 20, 1920. 



"Of the twenty-score Americans kiUed in Mexico in Carranza's 
time more than a fuU score of them have been murdered in the oil 
fields. Disarmed, alone, these brave fellow-countrymen, of yours 
and mine, have faced the nameless dread of death and given their 
lives in time of war, that their country might Uve. And the oil 
came out, and on that oil-a sea of oU-the Allies floated to victory," 



,W7 



"If Mexico is held to own the oil, what follows? Mexico 
may be in hostile hands and may deny us access in time 
of greatest need in war or peace, or may transfer, by later 
act, inalienable titles that may fall into enemy hands." 

"The menace is not merely to you or to us, but to our 
future and to our country. We want nothing that belongs 
to Mexico or Mexicans." 






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ASPHALT MATERIALS FROM MEXICO 

I have recently come from Mexico; and I cannot accept 
the theories which you see advanced now and then, some- 
times by radicals, sometimes by pacifists, sometimes by well 
intentioned but misinformed people, that Carranza is a good 
ruler and that Mexico is a happy and contented land. 

Your interest today is in hearing something of but a single 
phase of Carranza 's conflict with Americans, and that is his 
bold movement against the American-owned oil fields of 
Mexico — a movement which, if successful will mean as 
Mr. Mark L. Requa said a day or so ago, '^an incalculable 
National calamity to America." Your interest is not merely 
because you have looked to petroleum from Mexico for the 
asphalt materials essential to the continuance of your 
roofing enterprises, but because as Americans you will 
realize the nature and extent of the tragedy to the United 
States, on land, at sea, in time of peace and in time of war, 
in industry and in transportation, if the ownership of this 
vast supply of raw material should pass from the hands of 
Americans into the control of the Nationals of any other 
.Nation, whether Mexican, German, Japanese, or whatsoever. 

In 1918, 412,000,000 barrels of petroleum were consumed 
in the United States. This was just 68,000,000 barrels in 
excess of the production of the United States. Of this differ- 
ence, of 68,000,000, 30,000,000 came from storage in this 
country and 38,000,000 came from Mexico. The 6,000,000 
motor vehicles now in use in the United States it is antici- 
pated will be increased by one million per annum. Three 
hundred million gallons of gasoline used by such motor 
vehicles came from Mexican oil. If not interfered with, 
Mexican oil could furnish in 1920, at least one-half billion 
gallons of gasoline. Seventeen American railroads are now 

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using fuel oil from Mexico. The Shipping Board at the end 
of 1920 will be taking fuel oil at the rate of 40,000,000 
barrels per annum. A day or two ago I received a telephone 
message to the effect that ships of the Shipping Board are 
now in harbor unable to move for lack of fuel oil. Fuel oil 
is being consumed along the Atlantic seaboard in the most 
important industries of the world at the rate of 60,000,000 
barrels per annum. The United States imported 60,000,000 
barrels of crude petroleum from Mexico in 1919, most of 
which was refined and the products therefrom consumed 
along the Atlantic seaboard. Five million barrels of asphalt 
materials are used each year for roofing purposes in the 
United States; almost all comes from Mexican crude. 

And this petroleum came from wells owned by Americans. 
(The product of British owned wells does not come to the 
United States.) 

Wells owned I say by Americans — not under concessions, 
but by purchase or lease from private owners. None of the 
oil rights of Americans in Mexico arise from concession. 
Luis Cabrera within the week has referred to **oil conces- 
sions" and that ''some of the concessionaires are not now 
exercising their concessions." But Ambassador Fletcher has 
said there are no American oil concessions in Mexico. And 
I know that Ambassador Fletcher is right. 

Our American State Department has in repeated diplo- 
matic exchanges emphasized our ownership of petroleum and 
petroleum rights, and protested against the arbitrary and 
unwarranted attempt of Carranza to despoil Americans. 

And these petroleum properties were acquired by Ameri- 
cans not only in strict accordance with existing laws, but 
as the fruition of gallant and adventurous pioneering efforts, 
in which Americans risked their lives and fortunes, throwing 
their all upon the green table of Nature, and by discovery 
and hazardous development justified their faith. 

Americans poured in their gold in streams, sometimes 
hoping against hope, and gave up their lives while superior 
Mexican geologists and others looked on and sneered at the 
''fool gringoes;" and the fool gringoes won, and the 

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petroleum they lawfully acquired is theirs and ours by every 
right, natural and divine, by every law of God and man. 

And when we had won and the years passed and we 
builded terminals and pipe lines and pumping stations and 
boiler rooms and tanks — the whole gigantic box of splendid 
toys for manly men to glory in — then Envy and Covetousness 
entered into the hearts of those who had not had either 
daring or foresight. 

When the Red radical Constitution of Queretaro of 1917 
came to be written, an American muck raker, Lincoln 
Steffens, wrote into that Constitution the notorious Article 
XXVII, under which those now in power in Mexico — in 
power by the grace of America — are attempting to take 
from Americans the ownership of petroleum. And they are 
trying to force Americans to surrender their rights as 
American citizens and accept in lieu of ownership a revocable 
license to them as Mexicans or as Mexican corporations. 

That is the attempt : to say to Americans, who now own 
things, you must give them up but we shall be so generous 
as to let you incorporate Mexican corporations which may 
secure revocable mining licenses or privileges in the lands 
which are yours. 

The effects are incalculable, the damage irreparable, to 
ourselves and to our posterity. 

If Mexico is held to own the oil, what follows? Mexico 
may be in hostile hands and may deny us access in time of 
greatest need in war or peace, or may transfer, by later act, 
inalienable titles that may fall into enemy hands. 

What will become of our Navy and our merchant fleet, 
our industries and our railroads, in time of peril and of 
dire need? The Allies, it is said, ''floated to victory on a 
sea of oil." And that oil came from Mexico. Suppose 
Carranza had had the right under international law to say: 
''A neutral nation may not itself, though its citizens may, 
furnish contraband of war, to a belligerent. We can't let 
any of Mexico's oil go to the Allied Navies." What would 
we have done ? We could not have done evil that good might 
come. 

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And suppose Mexico should accomplish her attempted 
spoliation, and then cancel the worthless mining licenses 
issued to us as Mexican companies — we having been obliged 
to waive any right or to appeal to our own Country for 
diplomatic relief — and then (for millions of pesos in the 
pockets of these in control of Mexico — in control, by force 
of arms, of the machinery of *' government") transfer the 
properties to their friends the Germans, or to the Japanese. 
What then? Would Mr. Eequa be right that it would be a 
"National calamity?" 

This is no will-o'-the-wisp of impossibility, no bogie of 
the mind. I have watched the Carranza group for nearly 
three years, in defiance of the protests of our State Depart- 
ment and in violation of common right, relentlessly pursue 
their avowed policy of confiscation. 

I have seen them by decree after decree declare that 
Americans must under penalty of forfeiture or risk of for- 
feiture do acts which would amount to an abandonment of 
their claim of ownership — their ownership asserted and 
maintained by the American State Department. 

I have seen the Carranza group, by every shrewd subter- 
fuge and cynical device of coercion attempt to make it so 
unbearable for Americans that they must come as whipped 
dogs to the heel of the victorious Carranzistas. 

But the Carranzistas were waging war against Americans, 
against Americans good and true. And the Americans shut 
their teeth, and highly resolved that while their properties 
might be taken away from them, they would never surrender 
them. For they believed and believe that to do that would 
be false to their country and to their country's flag. 

And they have been abused and shot at and murdered — 
of the twenty score Americans killed in Mexico in Carranza 's 
time more than a full score of them have been murdered in 
the oil fields. Disarmed, alone, these brave fellow-country- 
men, of yours and mine, have faced the nameless dread of 
death and given their lives in time of war, that their country 
might live. And the oil came out, and on that oil — a sea 
of oil — the Allies floated to victory. 

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This, gentlemen, is my message today: 

The menace is not merely to you or to us, but to our 
future and to our Country. We want nothing that belongs 
to Mexico or Mexicans. Mexico under Carranza is trying 
to take what belongs to America and Americans. And so 
Carranza has sent his soldiers to stop the drilling of wells, 
and has refused permits unless we would agree in advance 
to an unknown law which we were convinced would be in 
confiscation of our rights. And today old wells have gone 
to water, new wells may not be brought in because of mili- 
tary force, and we are facing, many of us, idle pipe lines, 
pumping stations, terminals and tanks and the American 
people are facing the serious lack of the life blood of industry 
and transportation — petroleum. 

This is the> unequal warfare which has been waged and is 
being waged against Americans by Carranza, the recognized 
<< government " of Mexico. This is the Epic of Petroleum. 
And so I say to you, business men, as one business man to 
business men, as a believer in the high ideals of business 
men, at home and abroad, did we do well to fight this fight ? 
And have we not fought a good fight? 

Thank you, fellow Americans. In you must we put our 
trust; in your sense of fair play and justice and in your 
demand that in this as in all things, there shall be fair play 
and justice. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 




015 833 616 9 



NOTE. — While as intimated in remarks before the 
Roofers' Association, on Tuesday, January 20, 1920, 
temporary drilling permits have been granted, the solu- 
tion is not a permanent one and the principal question 
remains. 

Under the temporary permits, drilling operations may 
be resumed without prejudice until the new petroleum 
law is passed by the Mexican Congress. This Congress 
convenes in September of 1920, and it is impossible to tell 
how long its deliberations will take, or whether a petro- 
leum law will be passed. 

In case the threatened legislation should be enacted, its 
effect will be to deprive American producers of the 
ownership of their petroleum properties purchased and 
paid for in good faith, prior to the new constitution of 
May 1, 1917, in accordance with laws as they previously 
existed. 



